$75-$100 Budget for 2 weeks of meals! D:

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  • bonkers5975
    bonkers5975 Posts: 1,015 Member
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    Check freezers second hand, classifieds, craigslist, etc. I got mine off the classifieds, paid $75 for it, and that was 8 years ago. It still runs like a dream.
  • jill___
    jill___ Posts: 188 Member
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    You can pack in a lot of nutrition with very little money if you buy things like frozen veggies and dried or canned beans. A vegetarian diet would be easier on your budget, but I know that's not for everyone!! I spend about $20 a week grocery shopping for myself. I eat oatmeal for breakfast every day, soup for lunch, and rice & beans for dinner... with a few snacks in between. I know it seems boring, but when you're on a tight budget, you do what you can!
  • Gunff
    Gunff Posts: 47
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    get a large pork roast, submerge it in water in a crock pot on high for 8 hours.

    drain, put on BBQ sauce and put it on low until it is warm.

    It will serve lots and lots of meals and leftovers. We turn them into pulled prok sandwichs, I've put them on chips to make nachos, you can buy a cheap pilsbury(or off-brand) roll-out pizza crust and package of cheese and make pulled pork pizza.

    you'll easy get 3 meals for both of you (or net 6 meals) from a $8 - $10 pork roast + BBQ
  • RadBarb
    RadBarb Posts: 19
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    The responses that everyone has made on this budget meal topic are amazing! I am new this week to MFP and am still in awe of everyone's wiliness to help one another. - Can someone help me understand what "Bump" means though? I have seen it on a couple of posts and just can't figure it out!
    Thanks!
  • almost50now
    almost50now Posts: 19 Member
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    When cooking dried beans, if you don't have time to soak them or forgot to, just add a little baking soda, less than half a teaspoon, and they will soften up quickly.

    To RadBarb: Bump lets you stay connected to this particular topic. If you comment on a topic you can go back to "My Topics" in "Community" and you can find this thread again. Took me awhile. Still don't know how to reply with a quote showing. lol
  • mispoohbie
    mispoohbie Posts: 31 Member
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    Bump for later... Thanks everyone.
  • Mama_CAEI
    Mama_CAEI Posts: 235
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    I think it's very do-able. We're a family of 6 and we probably spend $250 a month on groceries.
    Some tricks to smart grocery shopping are:
    -use coupons combined with sale prices (we can't stack coupons in Canada and we don't have double coupon days and stuff like that, so I try to use my coupons on sale-priced items)
    -buy "family size" packages of meat, divide into meal-size portions and freeze
    -buy stuff on the clearance rack (for example, our grocery store has a 50% off rack in the bakery dept. with stuff that's on its "best before" date...we just bring it home and freeze it!)
    -buy family pack or bulk size staples and shelf-stable food when possible; if you don't already belong to a warehouse club (like Costco, Sam's, etc.), consider getting a membership: not everything is a better price than the grocery store, but many things are;
    -buy your fresh fruits and veggies every couple of days instead of buying enough for a week and then throwing them out because you didn't eat them fast enough;
    -think outside the grocery store: we buy a lot of our staples at our local drug store because their sale prices are often better than the grocery store;
    -cook from scratch; pre-packaged foods might be convenient but they cost more per serving and are usually full of sodium anyway;
    -buy store brands rather than name brands (unless your coupons bring the name brand price lower than the store brand);
    -your Crock-Pot can be your best friend! Make big stews, soups, roasts, etc...you can freeze the leftovers to eat later on.
  • msps1973
    msps1973 Posts: 52 Member
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    I am vegan so I eat tons of friuts and veggies- that is probably what I spend the most $$ on. My husband is NOT vegan, but recently shot a deer, so our freezer is stocked with venison for him. I make pretty much everything! Pasta sauce, baked goods, veggie burgers, etc. Beans are really cheap as is rice. I make a lot of soup- usually 2 batches a week- and freeze. That usually covers lunch for me. I always buy store brand pasta, etc. And Aldi is a great stop for canned goods, bread, cheese and meat.

    When I make a meal I always make enough so there are leftovers for lunch or dinner. And yes, always use your leftovers!! You can add leftover veggies to eggs the next morning or add some oatmeal and turn into a veggie burger. THe possibilities are endless!!

    Vegan on 3.33 a day is a good site. You can always add meat to the the recipes if you want. I spend about $100-125 every 2 weeks on food. But I am trying to reduce that but using what I have before I go shop.

    Hope this helps!!!
  • Tjm288
    Tjm288 Posts: 53 Member
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    WHATS BUMP!?
  • PrincessGlitterTush
    PrincessGlitterTush Posts: 388
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    BUMP
  • woou
    woou Posts: 668 Member
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    WHATS BUMP!?

    Credit to Urban Dictionary:
    BUMP to bring up somebody's post typically by posting the word "bump" on a message board
    Can also stand for
    Bring
    Up
    My
    Post
    bump!
  • deadstarsunburn
    deadstarsunburn Posts: 1,337 Member
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    Masa
    Beans
    Rice
    Pasta
    Natural salsa
    Homemade bread

    Than different variations

    Can you cut costs elsewhere? Not to sound awful but if you're that strapped for cash and perhaps whatever is causing you to have this little money left for food isn't worth it?
    I wish you the best
    =]
  • katya143
    katya143 Posts: 313 Member
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    bump
  • kikih64
    kikih64 Posts: 349 Member
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    Save for later. Thanks...I spend way too much, so I'm looking for ideas too!
  • jenniffer86
    jenniffer86 Posts: 65 Member
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    My suggestion is to make a mexican chilli/stew.
    It's my kind of chilli, but closer to a stew I guess... :P

    You can get a big thing of hamburger meat for pretty cheap and cut it in half, use the other half for spagetti another night,
    Here are the ingreidents, oh and I think your husband will like it because it's def. got a kick of spice to it!

    I use roughly 500g ground beef,
    brown it in the pan, then add it to a big pot.
    Cut up 2 cups of baby carrots, add them in the pot.
    Cut up one big baker potatoe into cubes
    Add one can of corn
    Add one can of crushed tomatoes
    Add one can of drained kidney beans (the red ones) I sometimes like to add 2 cans
    Now stir this all up and add in your spices,
    I add garlic
    pepper
    mexican chilli spice
    cayenne pepper
    chipolte (just a bit)

    Basically I just cook this on a medium heat for around an hour, check on it so it's not boiling over and burning the bottom, gradually turn down the heat, and just check on your carrots, normally when they are done and able to cut threw easily then the chilli is done.

    Just add bits of spice until it is to your liking,
    I eat this with crackers, bread, or baking powder biscuits

    :)
    It makes enough to lasts a good few days, and you can definetly freeze this in tupperwear for another day, it's hearty and filling
    You can find the calorie count for it under
    Jenn's Spicy Chilli on MFP -- the calorie count is around 325 ...chilli only, and you can adjust with what you think is correct or not.
    All my friends and family love it! so I hope it'll help!!
    --- also works great in the crockpot - low for 8 hrs or high for 4
    To buy all the stuff it should be roughly $12 for like 3 days ;)
  • LethaSue
    LethaSue Posts: 285 Member
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    Beans, potatoes, rice, bread, ....................... a big pot of beans can feed for several meals, with cornbread, You can even add a pound of hamburger and a can of tomatoes to the beans.................. chicken and dumplins can make several meals, cheap to make........... spagetti is cheap, as is a big pot of vegetable soup, also yummy with cornbread......... Do you have a discount bread store in your town? Can get a trunk full of bread and donuts and fill you up kind of things from there. Cheap food is good tasty food, just not so good calorie wise. Starches are filling in more ways than one.
  • dawgn49
    dawgn49 Posts: 15
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    WOW at some of the prices you guys are buying your groceries at. I guess it depends on where you live because I can not find food for those prices around here. (Vancouver, Canada)
    Broccoli crowns (2)
    Kellogs Special K (2)
    Cottage Cheese(750g)
    Haddock Fillets(box)
    Lean Ground Sirloin (1lb)
    Pineapple(3 cans)
    was $40.00 total yesterday.
  • Thamantha
    Thamantha Posts: 102 Member
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    Some posters have touched on this but I have to say that HOW you shop is as important as what you buy when it comes to meeting your budget.

    I found that deciding the entire weeks meals in advance and then only buying items on the list made a huge difference. Impulse buys, and 'oh that looks nice', and even some special offers can ruin your budget. By sticking to a pre-planned list you cut down on food waste, and keep your budget in shape.
    If something is on offer only buy it if you would have anyway, and it is actually cheaper than you could get elsewhere. Buying own brand goods can cut down the costs, as can shopping late at night for price reductions on fresh food.

    Comparing the price of foods can help. I don't know about the US, but the UK supermarkets label how much something costs per kilo or per pound, so it becomes easy to see that the 'box' of mushrooms is actually more expensive than loose mushrooms (or apples, or tomatoes, etc).
    Making your food from scratch is definitely cheaper (in the UK) and more satisfying, and as has been said already freezing extras for later is a great strategy for the days when you don't have the energy or inclination to cook.
  • Murphy15
    Murphy15 Posts: 142
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    Check this out: http://www.learnvest.com/living-frugally/food-for-a-month-get-your-first-week-of-recipes/.

    It's a plan for food for a month and should only cost about $30/week. The link is for the first week, but you can get to the others from there. Good luck. :)
  • ozycat
    ozycat Posts: 72 Member
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    bump!

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